Clippers 105, Warriors 86: According to Wikipedia, disappointment is “the feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations or hopes to manifest.” My expectations of the Clippers certainly failed to maifest last night, and that’s only partly my own fault. So… where do I begin? In an attempt at being optimistic, maybe with the fact that the Clippers won the game, and did so without playing well? The new-found ability to do such a thing has been made possible by Chris Paul, and it’s what truly makes this Clipper team different than last season’s version.
For those folks who didn’t make them a priority last season, let me assure you that the Clippers were already exciting. It could’ve been called Lob City with Baron, Mo, or anyone else at the point, as it doesn’t take a passer of CP’s caliber to convert alley-oops with Blake Griffin. So, had the Clippers put on a show last night it would’ve been a reiteration of something we already knew about them–a reiteration that I was dying to see and hope to witness repeatedly this season, but a reiteration nonetheless. Instead, we learned something new about them in this disappointment: we now know the Clippers are capable of winning ugly games, something that all great teams can do. When nothing’s going as planned and it’s all tied up at 79 with two minutes to go, do you have the ability to manufacture a few scores? This is the most important thing that Chris Paul brings to the Clippers, and he proved last night that be brings it in a major way. I, like everyone else, enjoy talking about the flash… it’s the reason why I like the Clippers in the first place. However, I realize that if I want to be entertained beyond the month of April it’s going to take more than alley-oop dunks.
So, thanks to Chris Paul, the Clippers are officially more than a travelling highlight exhibition. That’s the good news. The bad news? It’s a 66-game season that provides little time for getting sh!t figured out, and they didn’t look very cohesive last night. I was expecting to see the off-ball player movement and fast breaking that we saw in the preseason, but instead I witnessed nine transition points and a lot of arbitrary passing around the perimeter, which resulted in way too many Chauncey Billups bricks for my liking. Where were the Paul/Griffin pick and rolls that figure to devestate opponents? Many don’t think very highly of Vinny Del Negro, but surely he understands the strengths of his two best players and how relatively simple it should be to put them in position to take advantage of these strengths right off the bat. It’s funny, because I figured it would take time for this team to learn how to play together, but I saw no sign of such stagnancy in the two preseason games. If you watch the highlights from the first Laker game you’ll notice that DeAndre Jordan’s dunks are all the product of good off-ball movement and the playmaking capabilities of Chris Paul (or Billups on one occasion). Now watch last night’s highlights…
…where’d it go? There’s one Paul/Griffin pick and…I guess that that a pop, but that’s it. The Warriors defended surprisingly well, but the Clippers made it easier than it should’ve been for them.
Speaking of good defense, how ’bout DeAndre Jordan’s EIGHT blocked shots?
This kid has so much defensive potential… it’s downright scary. You thought Tyson Chandler was a force last season? DeAndre is more athletic and about twice as big around. He doesn’t yet possess the discipline or smarts of a guy like Dwight Howard or Kevin Garnett (strictly basketball smarts in his case), but as he gets older he should continue to make progress and move toward becoming a defensive game-changer like those guys I just mentioned. He’s got the perfect physique for it, that’s for sure. That block on David Lee where he just rips the ball right out of his hands… I didn’t even know what to think of that. I’ve seen Javale McGee and LaPhonso Ellis cuff a ball with one hand and come down with it, but I’ve never seen someone take two hands and rip the ball from the offensive player before he’s released it. I still can’t believe a foul wasn’t called. Not that it was a foul, just because… how do you do that without fouling?!
Other players who performed well were Ryan Gomes (6/4 on 3-4 in 14 minutes), Andris Biedrins (10/8/3 BLK on 5-5, late-round fantasy selection!), and David Lee (21/12 on 10-19). Monta Ellis couldn’t find his stroke at all (6-19, early-round fantasy selection…) and Steph Curry didn’t look very good, but he was playing on a bad wheel.
One final note: for the first time ever, the Clippers got a “BEAT LA!” chant. I couldn’t believe my ears. Oakland crowds are always a little crazy, but still… shocking. It’s been two preseason games and a somewhat unimpressive debut, but I think this chant already solidifies this team as one of the most significant in Clipper history. As JVG put it, it’s been decades of “almost incomprehensable losing.”
I feel like I didn’t say enough about Chris Paul. I’ve given him complete credit for last night’s revelation, but this post should be ChrisPaulChrisPaulChrisPaulChrisPaul, and it was only ChrisPaul. Let me emphasize how awesome he was at the end of the game: Chris Paul was awesome! This was a one-point game in the fourth quarter, you know. Of the final 22 Clipper points CP either scored or assisted on 16 of them.
Still, I haven’t forgotten about EJ. Hopefully he gets his Hornets career off to a great start in Phoenix tonight.
